REVIEW | COLOURPOP COSMETICS + SWATCHES

Based out of LA, ColourPop Cosmetics is a favourite among people who are in with the beauty trends of Instagram and following all the beauty gurus of Youtube. It’s known as an affordable alternative to many higher end products like the Kylie Lip Kits, and has also done multiple collaborations with inflencer personnels like Jenn Im and Alexis Ren. When I saw that there was free international shipping, I jumped right on that and ordered a few things to try for myself. With the price being so affordable, basically a drugstore equivalent, I wanted to see for myself if the formula and quality of the products were as good as many people claimed them to be. Call me skeptical, but how can products be that cheap and that good?! I’m the type of girl that when it comes to makeup and its a tried and true favourite, it’s very hard to make me stray away to try something new, price tag doesn’t matter if it makes my life easier. I’m a busy person who can’t be bothered with too much fuss on a day to day basis with complicated makeup so I like to have reliable products I can use on the go to look a little bit more put together.

For this order I decided to try a few different items to get an all around feel, focusing on items I could easily incorporate into my daily routine. I ordered some highlighters, liquid lipsticks (because that’s what ColourPop is hyped up about on those social media channels), a lip gloss, lip pencil and one of their new blotted lips. Upon opening the box, you’re greeted with a colourful patterned interior, a pamphlet booklet of the different types of products and a printed hand-written note with the items ordered wrapped under tissue paper. For the price I paid, I was impressed with the packaging as even when ordering items from Sephora (which is has a higher price range), you’re not greeted with the same un-boxing experience. Truly felt like it was a makeup Christmas morning!

Read on for a full review of the items purchased!

Items in order or swatches top to bottom: My Jam, Strip, Frick n Frack, Bumble, Deja-Vu, Whipped and Lunch Money

ITEMS PURCHASED

Ultra Glossy Lip in My Jam: Ultra sparkly and glittery I bought this to use as a lip topper. I don’t have anything similar to this in my collection currently and this just makes your lips look super pouty and full when placed in the center of the lips. It’s not particularly sticky and doesn’t have a gritty feeling to it like some other glitter glosses would. I don’t find that it looks all that great all over the lip on its own, but I do love it layered over other dark nude lip colours like Leo by Jeffree Star. Overall 8/10

Super Shock Cheek Highlighter in Lunch Money: A pearlized light champagne highlighter, its easy to see why this is a best seller. It looks lovely on the skin giving that glow on the cheek bones. The formula is quite interesting as its like a cream, but light feeling at the same time, definitely feels weightless on the skin, maybe even a bit oily in a way. I do find that this formula does layer up a bit but it tends to fade throughout the day on me. I’ve also used this on my eyelids and found that it creased a lot. All in all the colour is great and the formula is super unique but I have similar products that I like better that create a more stand out glow that I prefer (current favourite combo is Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal layered with a light sparkly champagne WetnWild eye-shadow to set, stays on ALL DAY LONG). I recommend to apply this with your fingers or a beauty blender for the best results. Overall 7/10

Super Shock Cheek Highlighter in Whipped: I haven’t worn this one much yet but formula wise it has similar issues as Lunch Money. I do love love love the colour with the hints of lavender purple glitter that gives me all unicorn feels. I don’t use this as an everyday highlighter, more of a going-out-special-occasion-I-need-a-bit-more-fun on my cheeks type of highlighter. But due to its unique colour I think it’s a bit better than Lunch Money. Unfortunately this was a limited edition highlighter so it’s no longer in stock. Overall 8/10

Lippie Pencil in Bumble: A cute rose-pink colour that works well under a lot of nude liquid lipsticks and gives a nice MLBB look on its own layered under a lip balm. Overall 8/10

Mini Ultra Satin Lip in Strip: A warm nude beige, I find this colour a bit too light for me especially with my tanned complexion at the moment but the overall formula and wear of the satin lip is pretty good. This is not transfer proof but fades and wears comfortably through out the day especially if layered with the Lippie Stix Primer. 7/10

Mini Ultra Satin Lip in Frick n Frack: a rosy-terrocata shade, love this colour! I found that it sits comfortably on the lips but does transfer and does not last as long as some other liquid lipsticks that I have tried. It fades pretty well and gradually but I would recommend reapplying after eating. 8/10

Lippie Stix Primer: I find this helps in conditioning my lips prior to applying liquid lipstick, feels smooth and soft but doesn’t prevent the drying feeling at the end of a day. I can’t really tell if it prolongs the wear of any of my liquid lipsticks but it definitely doesn’t make any of them under perform and adds slight comfort when wearing drying formulas as you won’t get the dry lip lines as fast as when you don’t use this product. Overall 8/10

Blotted Lip in Deja Vu (part of the Alexis Ren x Colourpop): Currently a favourite in my purse! This is the perfect on the go lip colour to apply whenever you need to add a bit of brightness to the face. It has a pink-mauve base which is applied as a sheer layer of colour, isn’t particularly hydrating nor drying, tends to stay on relatively long as even after meals my lips still have a light stain of the colour. The only thing that is annoying is that the lip bullet broke and now it makes it a bit more difficult to apply with the bullet spinning around. Overall 9/10

WOULD I PURCHASE AGAIN?

Yes.

I think for the price point and abundance of options ColourPop is a fun way to experiment with new items of good quality. I would, however, personally wait on free shipping (as international shipping can get quite expensive, especially if you get hit with duties) as well as promo codes for additional samples so you get the most for your money. I would definitely look into trying out their eye-shadows as I’ve heard great things about those and to order more lippies. Most recently, their launch of the new Crystal Collection has me excited because who doesn’t want a little iridescent-unicorn-esque inspired pieces added to their own collections?